Studies van een vogel, mogelijk een meeuw Possibly 1881 - 1883

George Hendrik Breitner made this study of a bird, possibly a seagull, with pencil on paper. The quick sketch gives us a rare glimpse into the working practice of an artist at the end of the nineteenth century. Breitner lived and worked in the Netherlands, and he is best known for his paintings of Amsterdam city life. His paintings captured the working class, the hustle and bustle of the streets, and the mundane aspects of everyday life. It is interesting to see him focus on nature in this study, however. Did Breitner see the seagull as a subject for his social realism? Or was this study a private exercise? Historians use artists' letters, diaries, and other archival material to understand their work. These resources help us understand the institutions and social conditions in which art is made, and they encourage us to think of art as something contingent on its context.